STEVENSON] EDIBLE PLANTS 67 



Me'teyala, 'round, inside seeds sit down' (mo<mo'li, round egg- 

 shaped; te'ydla, inside sit down). The word for seeds is 

 not expressed, but it is fully understood m reference to 

 squash or melons. "Melons never stand but sit upon the 

 ground or floor." The tendrils of the squash vine are called 

 by the Zuni to'nxkanne (to<to'nini, native cotton rope; 

 Jeanne, coiled). - 

 Fresh squash is cither cut in jjieces and boiled or is roasted whole 

 in the ashes; it is cut in spiral strips, folded into hanks, and hung up 

 to dry for winter use. Squash blossoms are cooked in grease, and 

 arc also used as a delicacy in combination with other foods, as 

 he' paloJcia, with which they are especially relished.' Gourds are 

 fashioned into cups, ladles, dippers, and are put to various other uses. 



Cycloloma atriplicifolmm (Spreng.) Coulter. Winged PigAveed. 



CiiEXOPODLvcE^. Goosefoot family. 



The blossoms are winnowed in a basket, the tiny seeds are collected 



and ground, and a small quantity is mixed with corn meal, which is 



then made uito balls or cakes and steamed. "Before the Zufid had 



corn, flour made only from other seeds was used." 



Ephedra nevadensis S. Wats. Teamster's Tea. Gnetace.e. 



JoLnt-fir family. 

 Tsi'posho, 'stiff-jointed' {'si, stiff; posho, jointed). 

 The plant, minus the root, is occasionally steeped in hot water and 

 the decoction drunk as a beverage. 



Eriocoma cuspidata Xutt. Poace^. Grass family. 

 Koic'delthi. 

 The Zufii declare that the seeds of this gi-ass formed one of their 

 food staples before they had corn. Since the introduction of corn 

 (it is certain that these people had corn centuries ago), it has been 

 the custom to combine the ground Eriocoma seeds with meal and 

 water, then to form the nuxture into balls, or pats, which are steamed. 



Eriocoma cuspidata. Thi-s is a singular species of grass which is found growing wild 

 in moist Bandy spots in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, and produces a small, 

 black, nutritious seed, which ia ground into flour and made into bread. It is held in 

 high estimation by the Zuni Indians of New Mexico, who, when their farm crops 

 fail, become wandering hunters after the seeds of this grass, which is abundant in 

 their country. Parties are sometimes seen ten miles from their \illages, on foot, 

 carrying enormous loads for winter provision.^ 



Euphorbia serpyUifolia Pcrs. Spurge. Elthorbiace^. Spurge 



family. 

 Pa'nashtu, 'mouth sweetened' (pa Kpash'teye, in the mouth; 

 nash'tu, sweetened). 



1 See B3d Ann. Rep. But. Amer. Ethn., p. 365, and p. 46 of the present memoir. 

 • Palmer in A nn. Hep. Dcpt. AgricuMurc, 1870, p. 419, Washington, 1S71. 



